Okie Misanthrope Random musings

realcleverscience:

A friend forwarded me an article, “Plastic bag ban will put los angeles in the landfill.” The author, Jay Beeber, had some good points, but also some poor points, and I take probably a different lesson from the points than himself. That said, I’d also say that I don’t necessarily endorse a total ban on plastic bags {and especially paper bags}, but I would favor incentives for people to reuse bags, such as an extra tax on using plastic bags.

First, banning free plastic grocery bags won’t reduce waste. California’s Statewide Waste Characterization Study [pdf] shows that “Plastic Grocery and Other Merchandise Bags” consistently make up just 0.3 percent of the waste stream in the state… In comparison, organic waste such as food and yard clippings makes up 32 percent while construction debris comprises about 30 percent. The effect of eliminating free grocery bags on the amount of waste generated in the city would be insignificant…

This is an interesting point, but I’d point out two things. Firstly, food and yard clippings are not, afaik (and I’m not an expert by any means), really harmful. They biodegrade and can actually give nutrients back to the soil. [Edit: I’ve been informed that this is not actually the case! I’ll have to look into it more.] Plastic bags don’t biodegrade and they’re known to break down into small particles that poison living things. Secondly, I would personally say that we should try to make progress where we can. I would be strongly in favor of any feasible way to reduce waste, especially industrial. But I’m not sure those are available yet. In contrast, asking people to bring their own bags is very feasible.

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